How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways
by kehwie
Summary: A series of one-shots, depicting various ways Daniel and Vala might come together when not trapped on the Odyssey in a time dilation field. The stories feature D/V romance, strong team friendships, and a couple of guest-starring 'ships.
1. Life Is Too Short

A series of one-shots depicting various ways a Daniel/Vala relationship could come to be when they are not trapped on the _Odyssey_ in a time dilation field. I am posting them together as one story so that you can tell me which you think is most realistic for the characters as well as which is your favorite (those two don't necessarily have to be the same!). I'd also be interested in what you like or don't like and your reasons why.

The last story in the series will be the reactions of others to an established D/V relationship. For that one, you can choose whatever scenario you like best for them to get together—even if it isn't one of mine. :)

Hope you enjoy! Feedback is definitely appreciated!

P.S. I hate when I find typos AFTER I publish a story! This has happened to me twice now! Yikes! :-p Hopefully it won't happen here. I'm trying, honestly.

**Life Is Too Short **

A/N: This one really doesn't need any explanation. I will say it's the only one written in first person. I don't normally write first person, but it seemed to fit the nature of this piece. I think it's the shortest story, since it's pretty straightforward. And I'll admit it's somewhat cliché, but it gets the job done. Probably one of the more realistic scenarios, really.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate SG-1_, and I make no profit.

When we stepped through the gate, we had no idea we were stepping right into the middle of a civil war. A truly ugly civil war, not that war could ever be anything else. But these particular peoples were using children, and none of us could stomach that. We had no idea what the issues at hand were, so there was no way we could pick sides. But neither could we sanction the wholesale slaughter of children, so we began doing everything we could to protect them from either side.

Vala was the most fanatical. We all did our part to save as many of the young ones as we possibly could, but she was driven by some inner madness. I think she was trying to atone for some remembered atrocities committed by Qetesh. I was too busy myself to spend much time watching her, but every time I caught sight of her I could see her desperation. I saw her pull a child out of the line of fire to safety. I saw her shelter two youngsters from a nearby explosion with her body. She seemed to be everywhere at once. I fully expected her to take a shot for one of the kids before all was said and done, and that idea scared me nearly witless.

Now, sitting beside her in the infirmary back at SGC, where I had been for what seemed like lifetimes, I kind of wish that was actually what had happened. I could have forgiven her for nearly getting herself killed if it had been to protect an innocent child.

I wasn't so sure I could forgive her for taking the hit to protect _me_.

The scene played over and over in my mind, starting with the native raising his crossbow and taking aim at me as I shoved a child to safety. I remembered watching his finger on the trigger, but before he had even pulled it all the way, Vala was in front of me, blocking the arrow. It hit her squarely in the chest, and the sound that came from me in that moment was almost inhuman. I dropped to my knees beside her on the ground, staring in horror as the blood spread.

Cam took out the shooter with a look of black rage on his face that I had never seen before and frankly hoped never to see again. I sprinted toward the gate, carrying Vala, Teal'c and Cameron covering me. Later, we would send others to try to help the children, but right now we had to save one of our own.

Vala had lost a lot of blood, and the arrow had punctured her lung. Carolyn had rushed her into surgery as soon as we brought her through the gate. She was now heavily sedated and resting somewhat peacefully. I watched her chest rise and fall, grateful that she was still breathing.

Still, I was angry, even though I knew it was beyond ridiculous and ungrateful to be so. How dare she risk her life to save my sorry hide?

She had just _better_ wake up. I wanted to thank her, then I wanted the chance to kill her myself for her foolish stunt. I wanted her never again to try to take a hit intended for me. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists.

A groan came from the bed. I glared at her briefly, then sighed as the anger drained away to be replaced by overwhelming relief. I touched her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open. "Daniel?" Her voice was hoarse and raspy and unbearably weak.

"Yeah, I'm here." I tried to think of what to say to her. But even with all my knowledge of language, I couldn't find the words I needed at that moment. The terror of the last several days must have short-circuited my brain. So I settled for, "I'll get Dr. Lam."

She nodded faintly. I left to fetch the doctor.

Days passed. Vala slowly regained her strength. I still didn't know quite what to say to her, so even though I hadn't left her side the entire time she had been unconscious I avoided her like the plague now that she was awake.

She had almost died. That scared the crap out of me. The thought of what my life would be like without her scared the crap out of me. That fact that she mattered so much to me scared the crap out of me.

And I was far too frightened to tell her any of that. I buried myself in work instead.

Finally, though, I couldn't avoid her any longer. It had been a few days since I even popped my head in the door of the infirmary, and I knew I was probably hurting her feelings—not to mention pissing off the rest of the team.

I walked in to find her sitting up in bed, playing cards with Cam. Teal'c stood off to the side. They all looked up as I walked in. Teal'c raised a disapproving eyebrow. Cam scowled outright.

Yep, they were pissed. I couldn't really blame them. I should have come long before now.

Vala barely spared me a glance. Damn. If she were angry, she would have let me have it. The fact that she wouldn't even look at me meant she was hurt. Frankly, I would have preferred anger. I sighed. "Guys, could I talk to Vala for a minute?"

"Go right ahead," Cameron said coldly, not moving an inch. Teal'c crossed his arms and stayed put as well. Vala's champions. Double damn. I shoved my hands in pockets and looked at them pleadingly. "C'mon, guys, please?"

Cameron rolled his eyes, but this time he got off the bed. Leaning forward, he pressed a quick kiss to Vala's cheek. "We'll be back, Princess. You take it easy. No hauling off and slugging Jackson, okay? It's bad for your recovery." Teal'c touched her shoulder briefly, and they both left. I sank down into the chair by her bed.

"So how are you doing?" I asked, still not sure what I wanted to say or how to start this conversation.

She stared at the bed covers. "I'm fine, darling. Getting stronger every day. Carolyn says she'll probably let me go soon, although it will be awhile yet before I'm cleared for duty."

That reminded me of just how seriously injured she had been. And the fear rose up again, almost choking me. I did the only thing I could to relieve the pressure: I exploded. "What the hell were you thinking?"

And then she _was _angry with me. She looked up, her eyes flashing. "Oh, I don't know. I think maybe I was thinking that there was an arrow headed your way and I had better stop it from hitting you! Which I _did_! You're welcome, by the way!"

"Don't expect me to thank you for risking your life like that!" I yelled. "Dammit, Vala, you could have been killed! You almost were!"

"Well, I wasn't. I didn't die. I'm fine, and you're fine, and everybody's fine." She sat back huffily against her pillows, crossing her arms over her chest. The scowl on her face made Cameron's look mild by comparison.

The fight left me as suddenly as it had come. I leaned back into the chair, sighing wearily. "Vala, you scared the hell out of me. There was so much blood..." I shook my head. "I really thought I'd lost you this time."

Her expression softened. "I'm all right, darling, really. Carolyn assures me that I'll make a full recovery. You don't need to worry."

"I do worry," I said softly. "I worry that next time we won't be so lucky. Vala...promise me something, please. Promise you won't ever do anything like that again, okay? Just let me take my own hits."

She stared at me for a long moment, then said quietly, "I can't promise that, Daniel. Any time it's within my power to do so, I'm going to try to save you. It doesn't matter if it's an arrow, a bullet, or a staff blast—if I can take it for you, I will."

I closed my eyes. "But I don't want you to," I said hoarsely. "I would rather take the shot myself than lose you."

She smiled slightly. "Well, I guess we both feel the same way then. Cameron told me something once. He said the hardest part about this job wasn't risking your own life, but watching your friends take chances with theirs." She eyed me briefly. "I would have thought you'd be used to that part by now, but I guess it never gets any easier, huh?"

"No, it never gets any easier," I answered. I hesitated, then decided to go for broke. Life was too short not to take the chance—her nearly dying only confirmed that. "But, Vala, this was different. Yes, it's hard to see my friends and teammates risk their lives. It won't ever stop being hard. And if anything happened to Cam or Teal'c, I would be devastated. It would be even worse if it were Jack or Sam. But you..." I trailed off, not sure I had the courage to say this after all, but I forced myself to continue. "Vala, losing you would kill me. Completely and utterly destroy me. I can't face that. I can't deal with that." I reached for her hand.

She was staring at me again, eyes wide. I could see the tears welling up, and I watched her draw a shaky breath. "Why?" she whispered, looking hopeful and terrified at the same time.

I understood those dueling emotions, because I felt the same way. "Because I love you," I said simply.

Her tears fell then, and she brought a trembling hand to her mouth. Then she smiled through her tears, a bright, beaming smile. "Oh, darling. I love you too."

I smiled back, leaning forward to kiss her gently. "I know," I murmured. "I kind of figured it out when you leaped in front of that arrow. I'm still mad about that, by the way. I'm either going to strangle you for it or marry you. I haven't decided which yet."

She giggled. And when she looped an arm around my neck and pulled me back for another kiss, there was nothing gentle about it at all. It was a kiss that was pure Vala, hot and sexy and passionate. It was reminiscent of the kisses on the _Prometheus_, but it had an underlying affection that those first kisses had lacked. This was a kiss full was promise. This was a kiss born of love and genuine desire. This time, she kissed me like she meant it.

And as I kissed her back, I meant it too.

END.

A preview of stories to come in this series (so you can be anticipating—or dreading, as the case may be! Although I certainly hope it's not the latter!):

*An "Unending"-style blowup

*A jealousy tale

*Daniel-gets-a-kick-in-the-pants-from-an-outside-party

*A couple of surprises! :) (Can't show all my cards, now can I?) ;)


	2. The GreenEyed Monster

**The Green-Eyed Monster **

A/N: I had a specific order in mind that I wanted to post these one-shots. The next one up was supposed to be the "Unending"-type blowup between Daniel and Vala—I wanted to do the scenario that fit canon close to the first. However, I am having a demonically hard time writing that one, so I thought I'd go ahead and post what I had finished rather than continuing to delay because of being married to that particular order. Hopefully I'm the only disappointed in the change to the sequence.

This story didn't turn out the way I intended (does anyone else have this happen to them with such alarming frequency? Or is it just my muses who pull such shenanigans?). I was going to use an OC as my Daniel-is-jealous catalyst. But I read a few John/Vala stories on Archive of Our Own, and fell in love with the pairing. I still am a die-hard D/V shipper, never fear, but if a relationship with Daniel became utterly impossible for some crazy reason, John would my second choice for our beloved space pirate. At the very least, I think John and Vala could be great friends.

To be perfectly honest, I am not sure jealousy is such a realistic catalyst for these two. I do think Daniel would feel jealous if Vala showed an interest/started flirting with someone else. I just am not sure he'd actually act on it. I find it more likely that he would take it as confirmation that she had always been playing with him and would simply stuff his feelings. So I decided to have him start out doing exactly that, then have circumstances convince him that she was indeed serious about the other guy. Hopefully that will make the scenario a little more realistic.

Brief reference to Jack/Sam.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate SG-1_, and I make no profit.

The city of Atlantis being cloaked above the San Francisco Bay struck Daniel Jackson as a birthday present, Christmas present, and thanks-for-saving-the-galaxy-once-again present all rolled into one perfect package. He kept busy at the SGC taking care of the backlog now that the galaxy was fairly quiet as well as studying the Asgard database, but he decided to take a month-long vacation so he could go visit what Jack and Cam both called "Daniel Disneyland." He fully acknowledged that it would be a working vacation. He planned to spend as much time as possible digging deeper into the Ancient database and studying the various artifacts there. It wasn't as urgent now, with the Ori defeated, but Daniel still thought it important. Not to mention utterly fascinating.

Partly because they had fallen into a comfortable rhythm working together and partly because he knew that most of the time Vala was stuck on base when they weren't off-world, Daniel invited her to come along. Not surprisingly, she jumped at the chance.

He knew that "working vacation" wasn't a concept likely to go over well with Vala, but to his surprise she agreed to assist him in Atlantis just as she did at the SGC. She did warn him, however, that since this _was _still a vacation of sorts, she wouldn't be willing to work unreasonably long hours. "I expect to eat, and sleep, and have at least _some_ fun while we're there, Daniel," she insisted. He grinned and acquiesced. "I may put in longer hours than I'll expect of you," he offered, "but I promise to let you knock off at reasonable times. Maybe you can talk some of the Atlantis crew into entertaining you."

He would later come to regret those words.

They had been in Atlantis for about four days when Vala bumped into Colonel John Sheppard one evening on her quest for food. She'd already quit work with Daniel for the day and was starving. Still, eating with company was always better than eating alone. To her delight, John not only agreed to join her for dinner, he offered to _take_ her to dinner in the city of San Francisco. Vala's eyes lit up. She still hadn't had much opportunity to explore the planet beyond Colorado Springs. She had read about San Francisco, and the idea of seeing part of it was exciting.

It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable evenings Vala had ever had. John took her to a delightful seafood restaurant overlooking the Bay. The food was delicious, the view was amazing, and the company was charming and funny. For the first time since stepping foot on Earth, Vala found herself genuinely attracted to someone other than one oblivious archaeologist.

So began a new routine. When Vala quit work for the day, she would find John. They would eat together, usually in Atlantis itself, but sometimes they splurged and ate out in the city below them. Afterward, John would either show her around Atlantis, or the two of them would explore San Francisco together. One Saturday, John took her to a beach, and they spent the day there. He taught her to surf. Another weekend, he introduced her to golf.

He never made a move on her, but Vala could feel the physical heat shimmering between them. She liked John. She even thought she could love him...if only she weren't so completely, irrevocably in love with Daniel.

They talked about it one night early on, sitting over dessert. John asked her point-blank if she and Daniel were a couple. Vala laughed and rolled her eyes. "No, love, Daniel isn't interested in anything that isn't ancient, or Ancient." She smirked, but John could see her heart in her eyes. He nodded slowly.

He leaned forward, looking her straight in the eye. "Look, I'll be honest. I like you, and I think we could have something here. But I'm not interested in being some sort of stand-in for Jackson, or a consolation prize because you can't have him."

"I know," she said quietly. "And I wouldn't do that to you, John. I...I like you, too."

"Okay, then. We keep going just as we are. No harm in hanging out and enjoying each other's company. If it leads to something more, great. If not, well, at least we've had a good time and gained a good friend, right?"

She smiled in relief. "Right. Sounds perfect."

Late one night, about two weeks after Vala and Daniel had arrived in Atlantis, _it _happened. John and Vala had been watching movies in his quarters and had had a bit too much to drink. Vala was feeling relaxed and happy, and John's inhibitions were definitely lowered. He was walking her back to her room, not an unusual occurrence. What was unusual was his hand resting lightly on her back, just above her rear.

They reached her quarters, and she turned to tell him good-night. And then he was kissing her, pulling her hard against his body. She responded in kind, her hands tangling in his hair, their tongues tangling together in frantic need. She felt his hand moving upward along her ribcage.

"_Vala!"_ They broke apart and stumbled away from each other at the startled cry. Swinging around, Vala met Daniel's stunned gaze. Poor guy; his eyebrows were nearly to his hairline.

Just as quickly, the surprised look changed to an angry scowl. Stalking forward, he roughly grabbed Vala's arm. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed. "This is highly inappropriate and unprofessional, Vala! I thought you'd finally quit coming on to-"

"Jackson, back off," John interrupted. "I kissed her, not the other way around. You're out of line."

"Yes, darling," Vala said, tossing her head. "Just because _you're_ not interested doesn't mean no one else is."

"Oh." Daniel released her arm, an indecipherable look in his eyes. "Sorry, then. I'll just be on my way." He hesitated, then added, "I'll see you tomorrow, Vala. I just wanted to get your thoughts on something I was working on, but it'll keep till morning."

After Daniel left, Vala tried to get her emotions back under control. She looked up at John, who gave her a rueful smile. "Kind of killed the mood, didn't he?"

Letting out a relieved laugh, she agreed, "Yeah, kinda."

"Probably just as well," John murmured. He leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow. We won't drink so much, okay?"

"Sounds wise," she grinned. She kissed his cheek. "Good night, John."

The next two weeks passed quickly, and soon it was time for Daniel and Vala to return to Cheyenne Mountain.

Vala hugged John tightly as they said good-byes. "Thank you...for everything," she whispered.

"You bet," he murmured back. He kissed her lightly. "Keep in touch, huh? You know you're welcome here anytime." Vala's heart swelled, and she hugged him harder. Finally, she pressed her own kiss to his lips then reluctantly stepped away.

Life at the SGC continued much the same as always. SG-1 continued to go on missions, and Vala continued to work with Daniel or with SGC scientists when they weren't off-world. She began an email correspondence with John, though. Sometimes they chatted via webcam as well. Vala really enjoyed that. Even long distance, John could make her smile.

Daniel noticed. He could see her excitement whenever she opened one of John's letters. And although he couldn't hear the words being said, he had witnessed their tender good-byes back at Atlantis. Clearly, this wasn't Vala's usual playing—she must really feel something for the colonel.

Something in him twisted at that realization. He had always thought—okay, hoped might be more accurate—that if Vala ever got ready to be serious and settle down, it would be with _him._ But no, he had to take her to Atlantis and let her meet an intergalactic heartthrob. Daniel's eyes widened at that thought. He didn't think Vala was playing, but was Sheppard? Would the colonel break Vala's heart?

Daniel thought back to the farewell scene between the two. He could be wrong, but he thought John was serious too. Surely, the tenderness and affection in Sheppard's eyes couldn't be fake.

Daniel swallowed hard and let his gaze drift over to Vala. She was hunched over the work table, working on a translation, obviously deep in thought. He bit back a sigh. Maybe he should see if he could finagle a transfer for her. He loved her, and he wanted her to be happy. If Sheppard was what made her happy...

However, Landry and the IOA might not approve the transfer. Daniel frowned in thought. Maybe he could ask for one for himself as well. No one would be surprised; everyone affiliated with the Stargate program knew how much he had wanted to go to Atlantis several years ago. Jack wouldn't protest now that the city was no longer in another galaxy. Mitchell wouldn't like it, but the original "band" had already started to break up when Sam left. Mitchell could deal. If Daniel asked to transfer with Vala, saying he still needed her to be his assistant, the powers that be might just go for it.

The question was could Daniel stand to be on Atlantis and _watch_ John and Vala together? He had survived the month mostly by being in ignorance for the first half of and by assuming Vala was playing around for the second half. Believing now that she was serious, that she had real feelings for Sheppard, would make it an awful lot harder.

Still, he loved her enough to try. He could just bury himself in work; he'd done it before. He took a deep breath. "Hey, Vala?"

"Yes?" she asked absently, her focus still on the translation before her. Daniel said her name again, more insistently this time, and she looked up. "What is it, darling?"

_Darling_. He winced. He had hated her calling him that at first, but now he knew he would miss the pet name when she stopped using it. Or maybe she wouldn't stop; maybe she had a different affectionate moniker for John. Having her continue to call him darling might be just as painful. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Still, he shoved down his feelings and plowed ahead. "What would you think about the two of us transferring to Atlantis?"

Vala blinked in surprise. "Atlantis? Permanently? Leave SG-1?"

She'd worked so hard to be part of SG-1, Daniel remembered belatedly. "Well, yeah. You know, we worked well together for that month. And I've always wanted to be stationed there."

Her head dropped forward. "And I prevented you. Twice." He could hear the guilt in her voice.

"Hey, it's okay," he said quickly. "I forgave you a long time ago, Vala. And things worked out okay in the end. We got to save the galaxy one more time. But now...Atlantis isn't that far away, and the rest of the galaxy is fairly quiet. We work well together. And...you could be closer to Sheppard."

Her head shot up. _"What?"_

Daniel sighed. "C'mon, Vala, I'm not stupid. You know I saw you that night outside your room. And I saw the way you two acted saying good-bye, and I've seen how happy his letters make you. It's not hard to put two and two together."

"Well, it must be, because I think you've come up with five," she retorted. "John's a friend, Daniel. A very good friend to be sure, but a friend nonetheless."

"A friend with benefits?" Daniel hoped the bitterness in his voice wasn't obvious to Vala.

She laughed. "Funny, that's the phrase he used."

"Oh, did he now," Daniel muttered. Maybe he'd been wrong, and Sheppard wasn't serious about Vala after all. Damn. If the colonel hurt her...Daniel's fists clenched involuntarily.

"Look, darling, if Atlantis is still your dream, of course we'll transfer," Vala said with what Daniel could tell was forced cheerfulness. "I'm actually flattered you want me to come with you." She hesitated, then admitted, "Sam actually offered me a position on the _Hammond_, but I declined. I miss Sam desperately, but not as much as I'd miss you." Another brief pause, then she added, "You're my best friend, Daniel."

It wasn't the declaration of love he would have liked, but Daniel could tell that Vala meant her words and that they had been hard for her to say. He covered her hand with his own. "Thanks, Vala. You're mine too. That's part of why I wanted to offer you Atlantis. I mean, if you're interested in Sheppard..." He couldn't bring himself to say "in love." "Interested in" was much safer. He could still hold on to hope even if she confirmed it.

She laughed again. "Oh, my Daniel, you're so sweet. We can go to Atlantis if you want, but please don't make it be on _my _account, okay?"

He nodded. "We'll think about it, how's that?" She agreed, and they went back to work.

A few days later, Vala came bounding into the office. "Darling, guess what? John's coming to visit! Isn't that fabulous? Maybe we could all go out together one night while he's here? Sam will be here too, which is beyond perfect. A full SG-1 team night—well, full _new_ SG-1 anyway, since I doubt Jack will be able to make it—and Sam and John will be able to catch up as well. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

Wonderful was the last thing it sounded to Daniel, but he forced a smile and agreed that it was indeed wonderful. He just hoped John and Vala wouldn't be all over each other at dinner. He wouldn't be able to stomach that.

It went better than he feared. Vala was wedged in the booth between Daniel and John but spent much of the evening chatting with Sam, who sat across the table from her. Daniel began to relax and breathe normally.

Then one of Vala's favorite songs came on. Usually she would be begging Daniel to dance with her. Tonight, however, she turned to John. "Dance with me?" she said hopefully. John never hesitated. He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Daniel stared at his plate, knowing he couldn't stand to watch.

"So when did they..." Sam let her question trail off when she saw Daniel's pained expression. She winced. "Oops. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Daniel shrugged. "I took her to Atlantis with me a few months back. They got pretty chummy then." He frowned. "I just hope he doesn't hurt her. I think she's serious about him, but something she said made me think maybe he's not so serious about her."

Sam frowned too. "That doesn't sound like John. McKay teases him about being Captain Kirk, but he really doesn't toy with women."

"Well, he better not start now," Cameron declared. "I'll take him out myself if he does." Teal'c nodded in agreement. "Indeed."

Daniel sighed. "I offered to get her and me a transfer to Atlantis, so she could be closer to him, but I can't decide now if it's a good idea or not."

Cam scowled. "Now why do you _both_ have to go? If she wants to go to Atlantis, fine. I'd hate to lose her, don't get me wrong, but why should I have to lose both of you?"

"I figured her transfer would be more likely to be approved if mine went along with it," Daniel replied.

Sam shook her head. "Don't do that to her, Daniel. I offered her a spot on the _Hammond_. Truthfully, I could really use her. She hated to turn me down, because we're such good friends and believe me it was a _sweet _job, but she doesn't want to leave SG-1. She said she'd worked too hard to be accepted, and she doesn't want to lose her family. She'd go to Atlantis with you, thinking it would somehow make up for you not being able to go the first two times and because, well, it's _you_, but believe me when I say she'd rather be here."

Daniel nodded slowly. "Well, if she wants to stay with SG-1, that's fine with me. I made my peace with being here a long time ago, and the Asgard database is going to keep me busy for years." He didn't noticed Teal'c's lips twitch at that.

The song ended, but John and Vala didn't return to the table. Daniel finally gathered the courage to look for them on the dance floor. He saw pretty much what he expected; they were dancing close together, completely wrapped up in each other.

Out on the dance floor, John placed his lips next to Vala's ear to whisper, "They're watching us. More specifically, they're watching me."

Vala giggled. "How sweet. I'm not used to having protectors."

"Well, now you have quite a few, it would seem," John smirked. He added, "Count me in that group. You need me to kick somebody's ass on your account, you just let me know."

She giggled again and kissed him. "Thanks, love. I'm touched."

After two more dances, they returned to the rest of the group. John danced with Sam, and Vala could tell he was amused by the conversation he was having with his former boss. She turned back to Daniel. "Dance, darling?"

He wanted to tell her no. He _ought_ to tell her no. But he looked into her eyes, sparkling with happiness, and even though he hadn't been the one to put the sparkle there he found he couldn't resist her. "Sure," he agreed, sliding from the booth. He held her loosely in his arms, partly out of respect for whatever relationship she did have with Sheppard and partly to maintain his own sanity. When the song ended, he danced with Sam.

"Find out anything from Sheppard?" he asked as they moved to the music.

She shrugged. "Not really. He's playing his cards pretty close to the chest. All he would say is that they're friends, and he likes her a lot. He looked pretty amused, honestly."

Daniel expelled a noisy breath. "Well, that doesn't make me feel better. Vala said they were friends too. But Sam, you didn't see them saying good-bye when she and I left Atlantis. And you haven't seen how excited she gets when she talks to him or gets one of his emails or video letters. I'm telling you, she's not playing with him; she's serious. But she said something about Sheppard calling them 'friends with benefits', which makes me think he's not really committed to her. I had thought he was until she said that. And now you say he's amused?" Daniel shook his head in frustration. "I don't like it. He's going to hurt her. And I swear, I'll kill him if he does."

"Get in line," Sam replied. "Cam and Teal'c will want first crack at him, you know that. And then I'm next."

Daniel scowled. "Now how'd I end up last?"

Sam laughed. "I don't know. Personally, I think I should be first since I used to be his CO. But I'm not gonna argue the point with Teal'c." She hesitated, then said seriously, "Listen, keep me posted on this okay? I'm going to be worrying about her while I'm on the _Hammond._"

Daniel nodded. "Sure. Hey, are you going to be here long enough to take her for a girls' day or a girls' night or something? She might open up to you."

"We're going shopping tomorrow," Sam answered. "I'm not going to pry, but I'll give her plenty of opportunity to spill, don't worry."

"Good." Daniel let out another breath, this time in relief. "You'll let me know if you find out anything?"

"If I can," Sam responded neutrally, and Daniel knew that if Vala swore her to secrecy, Sam wouldn't break the confidence. He groaned. "I really hate this whole female loyalty thing, you know."

Sam laughed again. "Tell you what, let's head back to the table, and I'll see if I can spirit Vala off to the ladies' room with me. Maybe she'll let something slip there, and I won't be bound by any oaths."

But all Vala said in the ladies' room was how glad she was Sam was home, and how good it was to have the whole team together, and how much fun she was having. She didn't impart any tidbits about what her relationship with John might be.

The next day didn't go much better. Sam and Vala shopped, ate lunch, got manicures and pedicures, and caught up on SGC gossip. Vala did chatter about how much she loved San Francisco and how much fun she'd had on her visit to Atlantis with Daniel. Seeing an opportunity, Sam tried to steer the conversation to John. "So John was good to you? He showed you the sights and everything?"

"Oh, yes," Vala enthused. "We really had a lot of fun together. And I'm so glad he got to visit; it was wonderful to see him again." Sam was going to press further, but Vala must have somehow known it for her next sentence deftly redirected the conversation. "I'm glad his visit coincided with yours. I bet you enjoyed seeing him again too. Do you miss Atlantis?"

"Not as much as I miss you guys," Sam murmured, wondering how Vala managed to evade questions she hadn't even been asked yet. No wonder the woman had been such a good con artist. No wonder she was such an asset to the Stargate program.

In the end, Sam didn't have much to report to Daniel. At one point, she asked Vala point blank if she was seeing anyone. Vala just laughed and once again changed the subject. Later, Sam tried to ask if Vala was interested in anyone. The former pirate's eyes clouded briefly. "C'mon, Samantha, you know the answer to that. We don't need to rehash it, do we?"

But Vala had confessed her feelings for Daniel to Sam long ago and in strict confidence. It wasn't something the colonel could share when she talked to Daniel. Still, she was beginning to think that 'friends with benefits' didn't indicate that John was unwilling to commit, as Daniel thought. Perhaps it meant that Vala wasn't able to resolve her feelings for a certain archaeologist and so hadn't wanted to start a "real" relationship with John.

Unfortunately, that was just speculation, and Sam couldn't tell Daniel any of it. He was unhappy, as she had known he would be. Still, there wasn't anything she could do about it.

Sam headed off to Washington for the rest of her leave_, _and Vala came bounding into Daniel's office, ready to work yet practically bubbling with excitement at the same time. John, it seemed was still at the SGC for meetings regarding the fate of Atlantis, and he would be taking her out that night after the talks concluded. Her eyes had that sparkle again, and Daniel felt his stomach clench.

He'd watched her flirt with half the base and never felt more than annoyance. This gut-wrenching jealousy was an entirely new emotion, and he had to admit that he hated it. He wanted to be happy for her, but between the worry and the jealousy, it was awfully hard.

Throughout the day, Vala continued to practically buzz with her eagerness for quitting time and her date with Sheppard. Daniel scowled. He could feel himself growing grouchier as the day wore on, and he knew he was taking it out on Vala. Like it was her fault she didn't return his feelings. He knew it wasn't right or fair, but he still found himself snapping at her for no good reason. When he bit her head off for asking if she'd correctly translated a particular phrase on a glyph that SG-8 had brought back, he could see the hurt and confusion on her face. He closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Vala. I don't know why I'm such a grump today." Which was an outright lie, but he'd be damned if he'd tell her the real reason. "Look, why don't we go grab some coffee and maybe a snack?"

"Sure," she agreed, but her voice was subdued. Daniel winced. Crap. He must have really hurt her feelings.

After the break, he made a concerted effort to rein in his emotions. It must have worked, because Vala's good mood soon returned. Of course, the fact that the end of the working day was drawing near _might_ have something to do with that too. He forced himself not to scowl again. He bore down on his pencil instead. The lead breaking for the third time in ten minutes made him rethink that plan. He switched to a pen.

John arrived at the door to his office just past 5:30. "Jackson," he said, nodding at the archaeologist.

"Sheppard," Daniel returned in the same even tone. He saw Vala scribble one last line before she straightened up and flashed a dazzling smile in Sheppard's direction. "Hey, love, you sprung for the day?"

"Yeah, you ready?"

Vala looked at Daniel, who waved her on. Smile widening, Vala leaped into Sheppard's waiting arms. "Let's go," she said happily. "I'm always excited to get off this base and go somewhere fun!" She waved at Daniel. "See you tomorrow, darling."

"Sure, have a good time," Daniel murmured, struggling to keep his feelings in check as he watched them leave, Vala's arm tucked through Sheppard's.

He stayed late, attempting to stuff his emotions by burying himself in work. Finally, at about ten o'clock, he headed toward his quarters. He hesitated, then decided to try knocking on Vala's door, although he really didn't expect her to be back yet.

She wasn't. Not wanting to go to bed but unable to concentrate on work any longer, Daniel wandered the halls. He went to the gym for awhile. He showered. He visited the commissary for a cup of coffee and a snack. Finally, he headed back to quarters. Glancing at his watch, he noted that it was now well past one a.m. Surely, she'd be home by now?

No such luck. Giving up, Daniel went to his own room to try to sleep. The effort went badly, as he kept being tormented by images of John and Vala together, and by five he was up again.

Unable to help himself, he checked with the guard and learned that Vala still hadn't made it back to base. Daniel's stomach dropped to his toes. Crap. He headed to his office to bury himself in work again and hopefully distract himself from his tortuous thoughts.

So when he headed back to the commissary a couple of hours later for coffee and breakfast, he was less than thrilled to see one Colonel Sheppard there, filling his own mug with java. "Jackson," Sheppard nodded in greeting.

Daniel felt a sudden, irrational urge to deck the colonel. He controlled the impulse, but he couldn't stop his fists from clenching. "Sheppard," he responded, just as he had the day before. He hesitated, then asked, "Just getting back?"

John looked surprised, but he nodded. "Yeah, ended up drinking a little too much last night. I didn't trust myself to drive back to base and didn't want to call for a ride. We crashed at Sam's. It was within walking distance, and Vala has a key."

Daniel could feel his his face flood with heat. They had crashed at Sam's. Sam was in Washington, so they would have been alone. They had been drunk...or at least Sheppard had been. Sheppard and Vala were all over each other the times Daniel had seen them together. He could guess quite easily what had probably taken place last night. Of course, he'd suspected before, but now it seemed certain. His jaw tightened.

John wasn't stupid; he saw Daniel's balled up fists and struggle to control his expression. Hell, it looked like the man was literally biting his tongue to hold back whatever words were trying to escape his mouth. John's lips twitched in amusement. It would be fun to watch the guy squirm, and he almost made an innuendo-laden comment designed to do just that.

But John wasn't cruel by nature. Jackson seemed like a decent guy, and playing up to his obvious jealousy would be a rotten trick. Plus, John genuinely cared about Vala...and Vala was in love with Jackson. She was convinced that Jackson didn't feel the same, but John wasn't so sure...especially now. He decided to help them both out.

"You're a lucky man, Jackson," John said casually.

Daniel blinked in surprise. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Vala's quite a girl," John continued.

Daniel's forehead crinkled in confusion. "Well, yeah, she is, but doesn't that make _you_ the lucky one, Sheppard?"

"Nope," John smirked knowingly. "No one's got a chance with her, including me—she's too crazy about you."

"_What?"_ Poor Daniel looked so baffled that John couldn't help it; he laughed out loud. "Look, Jackson, I shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm going to anyway. Vala and I are not dating. We enjoy hanging out together, and I had hoped it could lead to more, but she's completely nuts about you, so it's not happening. We probably would have ended up in bed together that night you caught us on Atlantis—I was pretty drunk, and she wasn't exactly sober. But when you interrupted us, it kind of killed the mood."

"And last night?" Daniel couldn't help asking softly. "I wasn't there then, and apparently you were drunk again."

John sighed. "It was close," he admitted. "We were definitely headed in that direction when we got to Sam's. But in the end, Vala couldn't do it. She said it wasn't fair to either one of us. We did sleep together, because Sam's only got one bed and I was too drunk to stay on the couch, but we didn't _sleep_ together."

Still trying to process all that John was saying, Daniel queried, "Vala said you called your relationship 'friends with benefits'?"

John laughed again. "That was a joke, Jackson, and it's better understood in context—which I'm not about to provide, since it's really between her and me. Just know that I've never made love to her, and she's not in love with me. You want her, you go after her." Taking his coffee, John walked out of the commissary.

Daniel took a deep breath. Okay, so apparently he'd read Vala's entire relationship with Sheppard wrong. Funny how a little jealousy could scramble one's brain cells. He swallowed hard. And apparently he didn't have to wait any longer for his space pirate to fall in love with him—according to Sheppard, she already was.

His face broke out in a wide smile, and he practically sprinted back to hall where both his and Vala's quarters were. Knocking on her door for the third time in twelve hours, he was relieved when this time the door swung open. Vala was dressed for the day and in the process of braiding her hair. "Morning, darling," she greeted. "What brings you here so early? I was planning to head to your office right after breakfast. Did something urgent come up?"

"You might say that," Daniel murmured huskily. "How was your date with Sheppard last night?"

Something he couldn't identify flickered across her face. "It wasn't really a date, darling. You know the drill—it was just dinner between friends and coworkers. Although I guess we aren't really coworkers, since John is stationed on Atlantis. So just dinner between friends."

"Oh? No movie or karaoke afterward? No culminating in a night of-"

"Daniel!" Vala looked at him in shock.

He shrugged. "Just wondering. I know you didn't come back to base last night."

She flinched. "Yes, well, we did hit a club after dinner. No karaoke, just dancing. We, uh, might have had a bit to drink. We crashed at Sam's. I have a key."

He nodded slowly, trying to think of what to say next. He knew he wanted to declare his love for her, but he couldn't bring himself to just blurt the words out. He struggled to think of where to go from here. He decided to try the lighthearted approach.

"So how about tonight? Any plans? You and I could do dinner, maybe karaoke or dancing—you pick. Then we could head to my place instead of Sam's."

Vala's mouth fell open. "Are-are you asking me out on a _date_?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," he answered. "What do you say?"

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

He should have known she wouldn't let him off the hook that easily. "Why not?"

Her hands went to her hips. "Daniel, I have pursued you for years, and you have never once shown the slightest bit of interest in me. Why now?"

He sighed and plowed a hand through his hair. "You want an honest answer? I'm an idiot. I was waiting for some sign that you were serious, that you weren't just playing around with me. Then you hooked up with Sheppard, or at least I thought you did, and I was so jealous I couldn't see straight. I thought you'd finally gotten serious about someone—and it wasn't me."

He drew a deep breath. "I bumped into Sheppard this morning. I knew you hadn't come back to base last night, so I was already driving myself crazy thinking about what the two of you had been doing. When he said that he'd been drunk and you two had gone to Sam's, I nearly lost it. I wanted to deck him."

"Nothing happened at Sam's," Vala said, then hesitated. "Well...not exactly nothing. But we didn't have sex."

"I know," Daniel said quietly. "He told me. Vala...why didn't you?"

Her gaze dropped. "I couldn't," she admitted in a low voice. "I thought I could. Casual, meaningless sex to distract myself from the fact that you were never going to love me...to remind myself that _someone_ found me attractive, even if it wasn't the someone I wanted. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it to John, although he offered it for those very reasons. I really do care about him, and I couldn't use him like that, even if he was willing. And...I couldn't do it to you. Even though we're not together, even though we haven't made any promises...it felt like betrayal."

"I'm glad," Daniel said softly, touching her cheek. "And Vala...you're wrong. I do find you attractive...very much so. And I do love you."

She looked up, her eyes shining with hope. "Really?"

"Really," he confirmed. He started to say more, but Vala suddenly launched herself at him. Laughing, he caught her and pressed his mouth to hers.

Once again, Daniel found himself watching John and Vala say their good-byes. John's meetings at the SGC were done, and he was heading back to Atlantis.

Daniel understood that John and Vala had gotten close, but he had to admit that watching them embrace and murmur softly to each other twisted something in his gut. When Sheppard pressed a light kiss to Vala's mouth, Daniel found himself once again clenching his fists involuntarily.

_He's leaving,_ Daniel reminded himself. _He's going back to Atlantis. And Vala doesn't love him—she loves me._

That did it. He relaxed and allowed a smile to come to his face. He and Vala had confessed their feelings, and they had a date tonight. She wasn't going to Atlantis with Sheppard. She was staying here with him.

Sheppard finally released Vala and left. Vala came over to where Daniel stood and slipped her arm through his. "Ready to go, darling?"

Daniel exhaled audibly. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." He wrapped his arm around her, feeling possessive. One of these days, he was going to have to talk with Vala about this "friends with benefits" thing she still seemed to have going on with Sheppard. But not yet. Things were still new between them, and besides Sheppard was gone for now. There was plenty of time to sort it all out. For now, he would just enjoy this new relationship with Vala.

Daniel woke up the next morning to find himself in bed alone, but he could smell coffee brewing. As he made his way to the kitchen, he could hear Vala giggling into the phone. She looked up and seeing him, she smiled and blew him a kiss. "Daniel's awake, Samantha; I've got to go. I'll call you back later, okay? Sure, will do. Bye." She ended the call and set the phone down on the counter. "Morning, darling."

"Good morning." He kissed her, then smirked. "Filling Sam in about last night?"

"Of course. She's my best friend, Daniel."

He frowned in mock anger. "Now wait a minute, I thought you said I was your best friend."

For the first time in the years he had known her, Vala blushed and ducked her head shyly. "Yes, well, I lied. I had to give you some reason why I'd follow you to Atlantis if you asked, even though I really wanted to stay here. But the truth is, you're the love of my life. Sam is my best friend."

Daniel chuckled. "I'll accept that. Because as it turns out, I lied that day too. The truth is, you're the love of my life as well. And Jack is my best friend."

She giggled. "Maybe the four of us could double date sometime. That would be fun."

"Sure," Daniel agreed readily. "Just don't ask me to do any double dating with Sheppard. I can tell you right now, I'm not comfortable with that."

She eyed him curiously. "He's really a great guy, Daniel. I think you two would get along."

"I'm sure he is," Daniel responded evenly. "But I don't want to watch the two of you together. And I doubt very much that we'd get along—you would always there between us."

She looked utterly lost. "Daniel, I don't understand. He and I are friends. How is that a problem between you and him?"

Daniel closed his eyes. "It's the whole 'benefits' thing. Vala, do you have any idea what it was like watching you hug and kiss and generally be all over him?"

She stared at him in wonder. "You really _were_ jealous, weren't you?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Why is that so hard to believe? C'mon, Vala, how would you have felt if the situation was reversed and I was dating someone else?"

"Well, of course I would be devastated, darling. But then, I've always known that I was madly in love with you. But John and I weren't really dating. He wouldn't get involved with me that way because he knew how I felt about you. And I never imagined you being jealous, because you had never given me any indication that you felt anything other than friendship for me."

"Then why in the world did the two of you have to _act _like you were dating?" Daniel grumbled.

She blinked. "We enjoy spending time together, like any good friends do. When we were in Atlantis, we would go see the sights in San Francisco together. He taught me to surf and to play golf. We have a similar sense of humor, and he doesn't shy away from my innuendo. So of course when he came out here to visit, we also went out and did things together."

"I don't really mean the _time_ together, Vala," Daniel said irritably. "I'm talking about all the kisses I had to see and the generally being draped all over him."

"I flirt, darling, you know that," Vala said. "You've seen me hug Teal'c and 'drape all over him.' You've seen me kiss Cameron and 'drape all over' _him_." She hesitated, then expelled a noisy breath. "I'll admit that there's a...physical attraction with John that isn't there with Muscles or Cameron. I think I _could_ have fallen for him if I weren't already in love with you."

Daniel sighed. "And _that _is the difference," he said. "I know you see Mitchell and Teal'c kind of like brothers. Your hugs and kisses with them have a sort of chaste, sisterly quality that is obvious. With John, there's this kind of sexuality that exudes between the two. It's impossible to miss that you're attracted to each other, that there's something _there_ between you. And so yes, it made me so jealous that I couldn't see straight. And I'll probably never be comfortable with him, or with you and him, because of it."

She nodded slowly. "I promise to be more hands-off with him from now on, Daniel. But I don't want to end our friendship. He's become rather special to me." She saw him flinch. "As a _friend_, darling. _You're_ the love of my life, remember?"

Daniel took a deep breath. "I'm not asking you to end your friendship. I don't have that right, and I know you'd never stand for it anyway. I _would_ appreciate the more hands-off approach." He wrapped his arms around her. "Call me selfish, but _I_ want to be the one you're hugging and kissing and draping yourself over and sending off sexually charged vibes with, okay?"

She giggled at that and kissed him soundly. "Of course, darling. I've always wanted to do all that with you anyway. I really do love you, you know."

"I know." He pulled her closer and gave her a kiss of his own. "I love you too." And the first time since their 'working vacation' in Atlantis, the knot in his stomach dissolved completely.

END


	3. Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make Me a Match

**Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match **

A/N: So, yeah, I still haven't finished the big blowup ala "Unending" story. Sorry. In this one, Daniel gets a nudge (okay, more like a kick in the pants) from an outside party. Strangely, this started out as a straightforward, Vala-is-dating-someone-else jealousy story (it was actually my first attempt to write that), but it turned into something else entirely. It went off into all kinds of crazy directions I never intended. Uncooperative muses strike again. :) There is still a wee bit of jealousy present, but it's really more protectiveness, it's not really the "main event" and it certainly is not the catalyst that pushes Daniel and Vala together. Anyway, this one is really meant to be simply a fun, lighthearted romp, so don't take it too seriously, 'kay? :)

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate SG-1_, and I make no profit.

Vala could not believe how much she missed Samantha.

She was madly in love with Daniel (not that he seemed to notice or care), Mitchell was like a brother to her, and she wasn't quite sure how to describe the bond she shared with Teal'c; she just knew it was there. But in spite of the fact that she still had those three as her "boys", she missed Sam with an intensity that bordered on desperation. Sam had been her best friend, her _girl _friend. Before Sam, Vala had never even _had _a female friend. What was the point? Now, though, she knew what she'd been missing all those years.

And oh, how she missed it.

She had tried to gt to know Dr. Lam a little bit better, but things hadn't quite gone as she hoped. Sam had always been amused by Vala's antics; Carolyn seemed put off by them. There were a few female military types on the base, but it was hard to get to know them when most of Vala's time was spent either working with Daniel or Dr. Lee in their labs or off-world with SG-1.

That was why she found herself sitting alone in the commissary at this ungodly hour, sulking into a cup of coffee that was cold, bitter, and downright nasty. She was bored, and she was lonely.

Suddenly someone slid into the seat across from her. "I have just come from the most _boring_ date in the known universe. I swear, this guy could put a sleeping pill manufacturer out of business in five minutes _flat_. Dating is supposed to be _fun_, not a drag. Clearly he did not get the memo."

Vala looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected anyone to join her; it was closing in on 1 am after all. But she took an instant liking to the curly-haired brunette sitting before her. Maybe this was the answer to her problems.

"Boring dates are the _worst_," she commiserated. "Dating really isn't supposed to be a chore."

"Exactly!" the other woman agreed. She leaned forward. "Listen, I'm Jennifer Presley. Captain Jennifer Presley if you want to be all formal and military about it, but I really don't right now. I wasn't expecting to find anyone in here, just wanted to grab a quick snack before turning in because dinner was _awful_. And no way in hell was I going to let that loser take me home. But since you're here, why don't we head back out? It's Friday night—okay, technically it's Saturday morning. We can hit a bar, get drunk, sing some karaoke, and maybe find a couple _not boring_ guys while we're at it. What do you say?"

Vala's eyes lit up, but almost immediately after her face fell. "I want to more than anything. I'm Vala Mal Doran, by the way. But I'm not from Earth originally, and I'm not allowed off-base unless someone is with me to chaperone or something stupid like that."

Jennifer shrugged. "Well, I'm someone, aren't I? I mean, it doesn't have to be someone specifically from your chain of command, does it?" She grinned. "I'll claim full responsibility for any trouble we get into."

Vala laughed in delight. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out. Let's go see if they'll let you sign me out."

Although Vala had only ever been signed out by Daniel, Samantha, or Mitchell, there didn't seem to be any mandate that it _had_ to be one of them. The security guard didn't even blink when Jennifer signed her out. Once past the checkpoint, the two girls began giggling uncontrollably as they headed to Jennifer's car.

And so a tradition was born. Every weekend that the two women had free found them signing out to go off-base together. Sometimes they hit a bar or a nightclub; sometimes they ordered take-out and watched movies at Jennifer's apartment. Vala learned that, like Samantha, Jennifer took her military career _very_ seriously. When she was on-duty, Captain Presley was professional through and through, and she worked twice as hard as any man to prove herself. She was smart and tough. On her down time, however, Jen was as mischievous and carefree as Vala. She possessed a wicked sense of humor. Jen worked at the base and wasn't on any off-world teams. Vala found herself wishing she could recruit her friend to SG-1. They had been a five-man team before Sam left; why couldn't they be one again?

Vala decided to see how the five of them gelled, so the next Friday, Jen joined them all at the rib place Mitchell was fond of. Squeezed into a booth with Jen on one side and Daniel on the other, Vala was happier than she could remember being in a long time. She and Jen laughed and joked throughout dinner, sharing some of their more outlandish bar-hopping tales, and to Vala's delight Cam and Teal'c played along, telling Jen about some of their humorous off-world adventures.

For much of the evening, Daniel remained quiet, a slight frown marring his features. But finally the spirit of the evening (or maybe it was the beer) loosened him up, and he joined in the fun. No one wanted to leave when the meal was over, so when Jen suggested they move on to her favorite bar, not even Daniel protested.

Mitchell and Teal'c headed over to play darts, while Jen and Vala dragged Daniel over to the pool tables. Because they were regulars here, they knew several of the other pool players. It wasn't long before a mini-tournament was going.

Bobby was an excellent pool player and had given Vala and Jen quite a few tips over the weeks they had been coming here. His teaching style had always been very hands-on, and tonight was no exception. He stood behind Vala, wrapping his arms around her to help her set up her shot. Jen chuckled to herself as she watched Daniel's eyes darken and his hand tighten on his cue stick. Good thing Kyle wasn't there; if Daniel was upset over Bobby's relatively innocent touching, Kyle's blatant groping would drive him insane.

Naturally Bobby won their little tournament, and he declared a dance with Vala to be his prize. Jen took the opportunity to drag Daniel to the dance floor as well, ignoring his protests. Truthfully, she would have preferred to be dancing with Teal'c; she found his muscular form extremely attractive. She might go ask him to dance to the next song, if she could con Daniel into dancing with Vala. Right now though, she needed to stick close to her friend. Their unspoken rule for these weekends out was to make sure they looked out for each other. Jen figured Bobby for basically a good guy, but really how could one ever be sure? Things had almost gotten out of hand one night a few weeks back with some friends of Kyle's, and Jen wasn't taking any chances. Especially not with all of Vala's "keepers" breathing down her neck.

Daniel was outright scowling as they started dancing, but Jen ignored him. She was going to enjoy herself, even as she kept an eye on Vala and Bobby. She loved dancing, and a cranky archaeologist wasn't going to spoil it for her. Besides, Jen had a pretty good idea why the good doctor might be crabby, and that news would thrill Vala to no end.

Bobby danced with Vala for two more songs, then Jen convinced Daniel to take over. Bobby headed back to the pool table while Jen went to go nab Teal'c. She was unsuccessful there (Teal'c was enjoying winning at darts too much), but she managed to coerce Cameron to the dance floor.

Then Kyle and a bunch of his rowdy friends showed up.

Funny how much more fun the bar was when Kyle and his crew _weren't_ there.

Jen and Vala exchanged looks, which didn't go unnoticed by their dance partners. Daniel stiffened slightly, and Cameron frowned, his eyes growing concerned. Without leaving Cam's arms Jen leaned toward Daniel to whisper, "Try not to let them see Vala. Kyle's all right, but some of his buddies are a bit rough. And since Kyle's got a thing for her, they all like to muscle in."

Daniel's jaw clenched. "If you don't think it's safe for her, we should leave."

"Don't be silly," Vala scoffed. "I'm not going to be run off just because Kyle's idiot friends lack manners. Jen and I have always handled them just fine before."

Jen shook her head, feeling slightly disloyal but obligated to speak up. "No, we've always handled _Kyle_ just fine. His friends are another matter, and you _know_ it."

The anger in her friend's eyes wasn't something Jen would forget any time soon. She swallowed. "Look, I'm sorry. But those guys make me nervous. Kyle's a jerk, but he's manageable. He tries to cop a feel, we shut him down, and he's on his merry way. His pals aren't like that. I'd rather not have to deal with them."

Daniel's arms tightened around Vala and his eyes narrowed. "Just what kind of run-ins have you had with these guys?"

Jen glanced at Vala, who was shaking her head furiously. The message was clear: _don't you dare tell them!_ Then she shifted her gaze to the boys and knew from their expressions that she wasn't going to get away with not answering. Sending Vala a silent apology, she said, "The last time they were here, they didn't stop at just trying to grope; they tried to remove Vala's pants. It got ugly. She and I fought them, and the owner called the police. We had witnesses, so we weren't charged with anything, and we didn't press any charges either. The owner told the guys he didn't want them back, and ever since then it's just been Kyle, who's grabby but harmless. This is the first time he's brought the gang back here." Her eyes darted around the room. "I don't see the owner though; I don't know who's in charge tonight."

Cameron made a decision. "All right, we'll stick close by. Hopefully that will keep the jerks at bay. If not, 'Murray' oughtta be able to intimidate them well enough."

"Why don't we just _leave?_" Daniel grumbled.

Cameron rolled his eyes. "Because we have every right to be here and technically they don't, considering they've been kicked out once already? Besides, we were all having a perfectly good time before these losers showed up, and I don't like being bullied. Frankly, I don't like anyone being bullied, and if they try something with _anyone_ here tonight I wouldn't mind giving them a quick lesson in manners."

Jen eyed him appreciatively. "I think I like you, Colonel." Vala finally smiled, and Jen knew she'd been forgiven. "See, I told you you would," the former pirate said smugly.

The song ended, and suddenly Kyle appeared. "Hey, Vala, wanna dance?" Daniel opened his mouth to decline on her behalf, but Vala was off in Kyle's arms before he could get the words out. He scowled. Chuckling, Jen reassured him, "He's really harmless, Daniel, I promise. It's just his friends we have to watch out for."

Daniel kept his gaze fastened on the couple. "Yeah, well, his friends better not get anywhere _near_ her, and he'd just better keep his hands to himself." He didn't notice Cameron's knowing smirk at his words, or Jen's amused expression.

Thankfully, Kyle and his buddies all chose to behave themselves. After a few more dances and another pool tournament, the team-plus-Jen decided to leave. Since they had all had more than a few drinks they opted to have Teal'c drive them to Jen's nearby apartment rather than heading back to base.

Jen and Vala slept in Jen's bedroom, and Mitchell called rank to claim the guest bedroom. That left Teal'c and Daniel sleeping in the living room. Teal'c settled on an air mattress on the floor while Daniel took the couch.

Hours later, Daniel awoke to the pleasant aroma of coffee. Sniffing appreciatively, he followed his nose into the kitchen. Vala was leaning against the counter, already sipping a mug of the fragrant brew. "Morning, darling. Sleep well?"

"Mm," Daniel mumbled in reply. Chuckling Vala handed him a mug. Daniel poured himself a generous serving and took a big swallow. He looked up gratefully. "Thanks, this is perfect."

Vala smiled. "Well, one of the first things I learned on Earth was how to make a Daniel-approved cup of coffee. And I've stayed here so many weekends that I know Jen's coffeemaker inside and out."

That statement brought a scowl to Daniel's face. "Yeah, about that..."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Now, darling, don't be a party pooper. Jen and I have a good time together."

"I don't doubt that," Daniel countered. "However, if she's going to sign off on the responsibility of looking after you, she needs to do a better job of it!"

"Please," Vala scoffed. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. But even so, Jen and I look out _for each other _when we go out. Didn't you realize that when she dragged you off to dance? She was keeping an eye me dancing with Bobby. And that was Bobby! We _like_ him! We trust him! Doesn't that give you some sort of idea of what she'd be like with someone we didn't know or like or trust?

"We've been going out together for months now, Daniel," Vala continued. "We've never come back hurt. We've never gotten into any trouble, except that one time with Kyle's friends and that wasn't our fault. General Landry has never gotten any complaints. We're perfectly safe."

Daniel's jaw clenched. "I don't like to think of you two out there on your own every week."

"Sam and I went out on our own all the time! What's the difference?"

"Sam took you shopping and for coffee and pedicures! Not to bars and nightclubs!"

"Oh, _please!_" Vala snorted. "Sam and I hit a bar or two in our day. She even sang karaoke with me once!"

"Well, that was different! It was _Sam_!" Daniel shot back, not entirely sure how it could possibly matter.

It was Vala's turn to scowl. "So it's _Jen_ you have a problem with? Daniel, you don't even know her!"

"I know enough!" Daniel exploded. "I know she takes you out and lets you get pawed by jerks like Kyle! And I know she takes you _back_ to a bar where his friends tried to do more than that!"

"Kyle _isn't_ an issue! He stops when I tell him to! And Jen _helped_ me fight off his friends!"

"That doesn't mean you should keep going back! Just because you were able to fight them off once doesn't mean you always will!"

"If it bothers you so much, Dr. Jackson," came Jen's voice from the doorway, "why don't you join us next time? We'll make it a group again. And hey, I'll take you to the Ace of Clubs instead. Fabulous place—and Kyle and his gang of losers don't hang out there." She smirked. "Although I'll miss Bobby and his pool lessons, how about you, Vala?"

"Oh, absolutely." Vala gave an answering smirk of her own. "I'm going to be _crushed_ when Bobby realizes that I'm not as bad at pool as he thinks I am."

Jen laughed heartily. "Yeah, can't say that I blame you for that! Bobby's adorable. But maybe Rich will be at the Ace of Clubs. You _know_ he's always good for a free drink or four. Once he found out how much you like those passion fruit martinis..." She winked.

Daniel felt something twist in his gut. It shouldn't feel like betrayal; he knew it shouldn't. But still..._he_ was the one who had introduced Vala to passion fruit martinis. Well, he'd tried to anyway. She hadn't actually been able to try the drink on that aborted not-a-date. But the fact remained that Vala knew of the existence of that particular cocktail because of him. So wasn't it somehow disloyal for her to let another man buy it for her? Didn't it count as cheating somehow?

Or maybe that was just his hangover talking.

"All right, then, Friday at the Ace of Clubs," Vala said, placing her mug in the sink. "Jen, darling, I made the coffee, and now I'm gonna go shower. If you'll be a dear and whip up some of those scrumptious waffles of yours?"

"You bet," Jen confirmed, moving into the kitchen. She glanced at Daniel. "Wanna help, Dr. Jackson?"

The two worked in silence for a few moments, then Daniel asked, "So this is what you do every weekend? Go out to bars and clubs to get drunk and be hit on by other drunks?"

Jen rolled her eyes. "Actually, no. Truth be told, most weekends we end up just staying here, watching movies, eating junk food, and talking. Or sometimes we do that shopping thing you seem to be so fond of. She's _lonely_, Daniel. She misses Colonel Carter. And unlike you, unlike_ all_ of us, she's stuck on that stupid base unless someone signs her out. Which is beyond ridiculous, by the way. She's a grown woman and perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She _would_ be taking care of herself if she lived anywhere else. And she's supposedly a valued member of the SGC's flagship team, yet she's confined to base like some kind of prisoner. I know you end up staying on base more often than not, but Daniel, _you_ have the choice. She doesn't, and it isn't fair, and you _know _it isn't right." Jen could hear her voice rising, but she didn't back down.

"So, yeah, I make sure to sign her out and take her _somewhere_ every weekend we're both available, even if it's just to bring her here. I'm not gonna let her stay locked up underground! And if we happen to like drinking and flirting at a bar or club some weekends, well, what's the big deal? We aren't hurting anyone. Hell, we've never even let anyone take us home! It's all perfectly safe, and it's _fun._ She deserves it. We both do."

Daniel felt like he had been punched. Jen was right. He'd never thought about it—never _allowed_ himself to think about it—but he knew the captain was absolutely right. Vala had proven herself many times over, and they were keeping her locked up at Cheyenne Mountain like none of it had meant anything.

"You're right," Daniel said quietly. He saw Mitchell and Teal'c standing in the doorway. They had heard Jen's rant, and both looked as guilty as Daniel felt. The policy dictating that Vala had to have an escort off-base had gone into effect during her first visit, when no one could trust her any further than they could throw her. Later, when she returned from the Ori galaxy and was made a probationary member of the team, there was talk of allowing her off-base on her own, but then the fiasco with the Trust spooked everyone too badly. Having someone with her for safety reasons seemed wise.

That had been ages ago now though. Now the only reason Vala still needed someone to sign her out of the mountain was because it hadn't occurred to her teammates to request a change. Which made them pretty lousy teammates and even worse friends.

Mitchell's eyes met Daniel's. "I'll talk to Landry on Monday," he said quietly. "If he goes for it, we'll go out somewhere nice to celebrate before hitting this Ace of Clubs on Friday." He looked at Jen. "Thanks for the kick in the pants, Captain. This should have been taken care of a long time ago. Vala isn't a prisoner, and my mama would kick my ass from here to next week if she knew I was letting her be treated as one."

"You're lucky that Vala and I haven't kicked all your asses," Jen retorted, but she was smiling now.

The mood shifted, and the four prepared breakfast in companionable silence. Still, as he helped Jen plate the last batch of waffles, Daniel couldn't resist asking softly, "So you've never let anyone take you home?"

Jen glanced at him, hearing the hopeful tone he tried to mask. "Nope, never. It's all just good, harmless fun." She hesitated, then confessed, "Vala came close one night, but she ended up deciding not to."

Daniel closed his eyes briefly. "I guess I should thank you then, for talking her out of it?"

Jen snorted. "Hell, no. Are you kidding me? I told her to go for it, that life is short. That dude was _hot_, he was totally into her, and he seemed decent enough." She shrugged. "But in the end, she said she just couldn't do it."

Daniel stared at her. "You told her to _go for it_? _How_ could you do that?" He sounded shrill, even to his own ears.

"What's she supposed to do, Daniel? Sit around and wait for you to get your head out of your ass? I think she's done that long enough! It's like that song: if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with. So, yeah, I absolutely told her to go for it. And I will do so again if the opportunity comes up!"

"You can't do that!" Daniel exploded. "You have no right to encourage her in that sort of thing!"

"I have every right, Daniel Jackson! You're the one who doesn't have the right to say that she can't!" Jen shot back, just as angry. "You don't want her for herself; you're just being dog in the manger! Well, I think that's crap, and you better believe I'm gonna encourage her to move on!"

"Okay, kiddos, time out," Mitchell intervened. He frowned at the two of them. "Geez, you two are _loud_. Clearly neither of you is as hung over as I am, or you wouldn't be shouting so much. Anyway, to my way of thinking, Jackson, the lady here has a point; Princess is a free agent and capable of making her own decisions. If we do get her approved to go off-base, she's going to be calling even more of her own shots. You're gonna have to give her the freedom to do that. And if there's some reason you _don't_ want her to be on the market, you'd better step up to the plate and give her a reason why." He turned to Jen. "As for you, I _would_ appreciate it if you weren't so blasé about our girl going home with strangers. I mean, I'm sure we've probably all done the random hook-up thing a time or two, but that doesn't make it smart or safe...especially for her. She said you two looked out for each other, so I'm not going to say anything more about it. Just be careful, huh?"

"Sure," Jen nodded. "We are, really. Promise."

Vala entered the kitchen then. She had heard yelling, although she couldn't make out the words, and she could definitely pick up on the leftover tension. She cocked her head questioningly at Jen, who just shook her own head in response. She turned to look at Daniel. He met her gaze, something indiscernible in his eyes. "Later," he mouthed.

The tension eased after that, and they ate breakfast. The boys agreed with Vala's assessment that Jen made some of the best waffles on the planet. They also agreed that Vala made one mean pot of coffee, and that the combination of the two was the perfect hangover cure. After food and showers, everyone was in much better spirits. They played a few rounds of cards, then the men got ready to head back to base.

"You coming with us, Princess, or staying here?" Cameron asked Vala.

"Jen's on duty tomorrow, so I'll just go ahead and go back now I guess," Vala said. She and Jen headed to Jen's bedroom to gather her stuff. Snatches of murmured conversation drifted back to the living room, followed by Vala's light laughter. "I can't believe you told him _that_!"

Vala emerged from the bedroom with her overnight bag and her giraffe. "Okay, I'm ready. See you later, Jen." The guys echoed her good-bye and thanked the captain for putting them up for the night. The team headed out to Cameron's car. No longer inebriated, Cam got his keys from Teal'c and slid behind the wheel.

When they arrived at the SGC, Teal'c immediately headed inside. Cameron didn't bother to get out of his car; he was planning to go to his off-base apartment. Daniel touched Vala's shoulder. "Hey, want to go get some coffee or lunch or something? I'd like to talk to you."

"Okay, sure." Vala followed him to his car.

They sat in a cafe, sandwiches and drinks in front of them. They ate in silence for several minutes before Daniel got up the nerve to broach the subject he wanted to address. "Vala...I had a talk with Jennifer about your...weekend excursions."

"Yeah, she mentioned that when we went to get my stuff," Vala nodded, taking a bite of her club sandwich.

He took a deep breath. "She said...she said she had urged you to go home with a guy one night."

Vala laughed outright at that. "She was just messing with you, darling. Jen would never in a million years have let me leave with a stranger from a bar...not unless she went too." She rolled her eyes. "When she started signing me out on a regular basis, General Landry called her in to make sure she understood the 'responsibility' involved when taking me off-base. It pissed her off that everyone seemed to think I needed some sort of caretaker, but she always took it seriously." Vala smirked. "She did suggest I find a hidden corner or something to have sex with the guy, but she was mostly joking and she _never _would have let me leave with him."

Relief washed over him that Vala wasn't ever in any danger. If he were honest with himself, he was also relieved that Vala hadn't followed Jen's advice, joking or not. "Okay, then. She also told me that she thought if you couldn't be with the one you love, you should love the one you're with. She said she didn't think you should wait around for me. Can you tell me what she meant by that?"

Vala's smile faded completely, and she visibly blanched. "She...she said that?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes. What does it mean?"

"It means she isn't as good at keeping confidences as I thought," Vala muttered. "Sam would never...shit, I can't believe she said that!"

It was all needed to hear. Daniel leaned forward. "Vala, Jennifer said she thought I was being a 'dog in the manger.'" At her confused look, he elaborated, "She thinks that even though I don't want to be with you myself, I don't want to let you be with anyone else either. It implies a certain spitefulness. But she's wrong."

"Of course she is," Vala agreed. "I know you would never be spiteful, darling."

"Well, thank you, but that's not what I meant," Daniel said. "Jen could see that I didn't like Bobby or Kyle or all those other guys at the bar flirting with you and touching you. She also saw my reaction when she said you had almost gone home with someone. She knew I was jealous and that I didn't want you to be with any of those other men. But...she was wrong in saying that I don't want to be with you myself. I do, Vala. I've wanted that for a long time. I just didn't think it was what _you _wanted." He held up a hand to stop her when she would have spoken. "I know you've always been willing to sleep with me; you've made no secret of that. But I don't do casual. I want _more_. I didn't think _you_ did until Jen let that slip though. _Have _you confided in her?"

Looking more vulnerable that he'd ever seen her, Vala gave a shaky nod. "Yes. Jen and Sam are my only girl friends, and I've told them both how I feel about you. Sam always said to hang in there, that you'd come around eventually. Jen's more impatient, and she says waiting for something that might never happen is silly. Plus she doesn't know you and love you like Sam does; she doesn't feel a particular loyalty to you. That's why she suggested I should enjoy the moment with that guy. But I...couldn't. He wasn't you."

Daniel's face lit with a smile. "I wanted to kill her earlier, but now I think Jennifer Presley might just be my new favorite person. I would have been grumpy and unbearable all week if she hadn't mentioned love and you waiting around for me. She was irate on your behalf, and I'm sure she didn't mean to spill your secret, but I'm glad she did. I _want_ to be with you, Vala. I want a real relationship and everything that entails."

Vala tried unsuccessfully to blink back tears. "Well, I guess I'll have to forgive her for revealing my secrets then." She smiled mischievously, even as the tears spilled. "Does this mean we're dating now? Is this lunch our first date? Do I get to tell people about us?"

He chuckled and reached for her hand. "Yes, you can call this a date, and you can tell anyone you want to about us—especially random guys hitting on you in bars! I guess whether or not it's our first one is still open for debate—I never did manage to convince anyone that our dinner at Il Fiore Bianco wasn't a date. I don't think I even convinced myself."

She giggled delightedly.

To Daniel's surprise, however, Vala didn't seem inclined to spread news of their new relationship all over the base. They went out a couple of times, although that wasn't necessarily anything new or unusual, so no one commented. (And no one was around for the good night kisses they shared at her door.) He held her hand walking through the halls and casually slung an arm around her in the commissary, but again nobody seemed to be paying attention or else just didn't care. On a quick recon mission later in the week, they argued as hotly as ever and Cameron simply rolled his eyes as always.

So Friday night rolled around, and Daniel and Vala headed out to dinner with Cam, Teal'c, and Jen. Cam had informed Vala earlier that day that General Landry had approved her for off-base privileges, and she was thrilled. Jen had already promised to teach her to drive so that she could borrow a base vehicle when she wanted to head out on her own.

Feeling much more relaxed than he had the previous week, Daniel sat with one arm resting on the back of Vala's seat. He pondered why no one seemed to notice the change in his relationship with the former space pirate. Had they been skirting so close to the edge of dating for so long that it made only a negligible difference when they finally took the plunge?

Vala and Jen were laughing at something Cam had said, and Teal'c was smiling. Daniel wondered briefly what he'd missed but decided he didn't really care. Shifting his arm slightly, he gave Vala's shoulder a quick squeeze and was rewarded with a bright, happy smile.

"Hey, now you two, none of that," Cam chided. "This is a group outing, so no making goo-goo eyes at each other."

"Goo-goo eyes?" Vala questioned.

"Yes, like this." Jen batted her lashes then exaggerated looking longingly at Vala. Vala giggled. "I couldn't possibly look at Daniel like that and keep a straight face, so no worries, Cameron."

"Good," Cam said. "'Cause I'm not spending the evening watching you two be all lovey-dovey. You do that on your own time."

"Well, gee, I'd planned on making out in the corner and giving you a _real_ show; you're ruining all my fun." Vala rolled her eyes at her team leader.

"Not really any good corners for that here," Jen said. "Save it for the Ace of Clubs. Plenty of corners there to choose from. Nice, dark, cozy corners." She winked at them.

"Sounds promising," Daniel responded with a smirk. And that finally got the others' attention. Cam's head swiveled comically to stare at him. "Did you and Princess switch bodies or something?" the colonel asked. "'Cause that sounds more like something she would say."

Daniel pulled Vala closer to his side. "Nope."

Vala rested her head against his shoulder and grinned innocently at their CO. Cameron stared at them for a moment then rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Okay, whatever. I quit tryin' to figure you two out a long time ago. Much better for my mental health that way."

"Yeah, your mental health needs all the help it can get," Daniel deadpanned. Cameron scowled at him. Vala grinned.

Once at the Ace of Clubs, Rich took one look at Daniel's arm wrapped around Vala and promptly offered to buy Jen a drink instead. Shooting Vala an amused look, Jen accepted and followed him over to the bar. Cameron asked a blonde to dance. Teal'c headed toward the games area.

No one noticed when Daniel and Vala sneaked off to find one of those dark, cozy corners.

END


End file.
